The Greatest Thing You'll Ever Learn
by CookieCrumble123
Summary: Percy Jackson - handsome, popular, goofy, star basketball player. He's also flunking all his classes, and if he wants to stay on his beloved team, he'll need to pick his grades up. And the only way he can do that is under the tutelage of one Miss Annabeth Chase. Percabeth high school AU, rated T for swearing!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys. This is my first published Percabeth fic and I spent a couple of hours on this, making sure it wasn't disgusting. I read a lot of fanfiction – like, every night in bed, haha – but I wanted to write something of my own. This idea is very cliché, I know, but I can't help it! High school AUs are my weakness ^-^ and why not do one Percabeth-style? I hope this hasn't been overused too much though :x **

**SUMMARY: Percy Jackson – star basketball player, popular, friendly and handsome. He's also flunking pretty much all his classes, and if he wants to stay on his beloved team, he'll need the help of a tutor. A tutor in the form of one Miss Annabeth Chase. **

**It's AU, so obviously, they're in high school. They're around seventeen years old. I'm English so I've used (mostly, I think) American spelling and grammar, but I'm not sure what the education system is like over there, so I made guesses.**

**Annabeth wears glasses! She lives with her dad and stepmom and two little brothers in, let's say, Manhattan. Percy lives with Sally and Gabe in Manhattan too. Don't worry fellow Gabe haters! He's leaving soon, and if you like I'll introduce Mr. Blofis :3 **

**Chiron is Annabeth's form tutor, like her homeroom teacher, IDK what you guys call it. I've tried to keep them in character. Percy's fairly nice, also clumsy as hell, but he has a temper if you piss him off. Annabeth is closed off and reserved, but she's not afraid to stand her ground and speak out, just like in the books. Sigh, what a great couple.**

**Sorry this is such a huge AN. I hate long ANs, especially ones that are longer than the fic itself, lol. **

**Okay guys, here's the fic. I hope you enjoy it. Look out for another A/N at the end! **

**Warning: Quite a bit of swearing, nothing else.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Percy Jackson series. If I did…*chuckles evilly***

**THE GREATEST THING YOU'LL EVER LEARN – CHAPTER ONE**

"_No._"

"Annabeth, please!"

"I said no, sir. I'm not going to tutor that guy. I don't like him."

"How can you dislike him when you barely even know him?"

Annabeth Chase sighed, but she didn't budge. She stood opposite her form tutor's desk, arms crossed, chin jutting out as she stood her ground. Mr. Chiron was a nice guy, and he helped her out a lot, but he was seriously nuts if he thought for a second she'd be wasting her time tutoring some bastardly jock.

Percy Jackson. One of the school's top basketball players. He was tall, with messy black hair and bright green eyes that were always filled with cheer and laughter, unlike Annabeth's own serious gray orbs. Percy was very popular, with both the guys and the girls. Annabeth was honestly surprised he was still single.

He was always laughing and smiling and playing pranks. She just didn't get it. How could anyone be so carefree?

"I see him around sometimes. I get bad vibes from him. Anyway, I don't have time to tutor him! My finals are coming up."

"So are his. Annabeth, basketball means the world to Percy, and he'll be devastated if he can't play any more. He needs to pick up his grades. He needs you."

She sniffed, her scowl widening. She really didn't want to do this. But Chiron had helped her out so many times before, and it was time she repayed the favour.

So she sighed again, this time more dramatically, and rolled her eyes. "I'll do it. I'll give him one chance. If he's late, or rude, or lazy, he can get lost."

Chiron exhaled in relief and nodded. "He knows how important this is, and I'm sure he won't turn it down."

"Fine," she replied, standing up, picking her bag up. She turned on her heel and marched out of the classroom, in desperate need for some fresh air.

She walked for a while, thinking. Percy wouldn't be too hard to tutor. Annabeth was incredibly smart, and she took pride in that fact. She was the top of her Advanced Level class and had begun taking some university-level courses in architecture. That was her dream, you see. To be an architect. To build something permanent, something people would always admire and recognise as one of Annabeth Chase's many masterpieces.

Annabeth wasn't very good at socialising with people. Sure, she knew a lot of girls and guys from her AL class, but none that she could truly call a best friend. They sat together at lunchtime, discussing the latest scientific magazines and new inventions, and Annabeth would take part, too. However, there was always a feeling of loneliness that settled in her chest and left her feeling uncomfortable.

In her other, normal classes, Annabeth kept to herself. They called her "Annie the Genius". One guy had even called her a humanoid after she had gotten full marks in a pop quiz everyone but her had found difficult. They didn't hate her, but they didn't welcome her, either. Not the girls, not the guys. She remained silent, burying herself in her work.

Annabeth couldn't remember the last time she had some fun, and to be honest, she didn't really care. She'd have fun the day she became a successful architect. But until then, it was all hard work for her.

She found herself standing next to the school's basketball court - a large, spacious place next to the fields. It was a bright, sunny day, the skies blue, birds chirping. She decided to sit down on the spacious bleachers, placing her backpack next to her and stretching her legs out a bit.

It was after school, so she had been expecting it to be deserted, but the team were out practising for the big game. She saw Percy prancing around doing something silly, his teammates laughing.

Annabeth briefly wished she could laugh that much.

Eventually, she grew tired of watching them, so she got a book out from her backpack. _The Young Architect_, it was called. A classic. Her grey eyes twinkled with excitement and she began reading her favourite chapter, the one that discussed the intricate design and development of the White House.

She was about to turn the page to start the next chapter when something collided with her head, hard. Annabeth didn't have time to shout out as her head exploded in white hot pain and she fell backwards, her legs flying upwards awkwardly.

Great. Just her luck. She gets assigned to tutor one of the biggest idiots in the year, and on the same day, she gets smacked in the face with a basketball.

"Oh, my bad!"

Annabeth groaned, picking herself up. She was relieved to find her glasses were still intact, because they were pretty damn expensive and her stepmother would be cross if they broke.

And then she looked up and saw Percy Jackson himself standing there, holding the basketball and smiling sheepishly down at her. Like he hadn't nearly killed her.

She was in pain. She was annoyed. No, she was_ furious._

"You hit me in the face with a basketball," Annabeth growled.

"Yeah. Hey, that looks pretty bad, you should go to the nurse-"

"You moron," she hissed.

Percy's brilliant green eyes widened, and then they narrowed at her. "It was an accident, calm down."

Annabeth glared, and she tried to walk away, but she tripped slightly. He reached out to steady her, as though he still felt bad. She knew it was all a show. And she did not appreciate the feel of his warm hand on her hip, not one little bit, so she shoved him away.

"Don't touch me," she spat, ignoring the pain and stomping away, backpack in tow.

She heard Percy mutter the word "bitch" after her, but she ignored it. She'd heard it all before. Ice Queen. Humanoid. Genius. And so much more.

What she needed now was an icepack for her face, pronto.

**PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA**

"Bitch," Percy murmured, fists clenched as he stared after her.

Percy watched Annabeth Chase leave, his own temper spiking just a little bit. He had hit her in the face purely by accident, and here she was, acting like he had done it on purpose. He barely even knew the girl. She was meant to tutor him, so why the fuck would he purposely hurt her?

The way she'd looked at him, with those clever gray eyes, like he was a piece of shit. It had unnerved him. She was amazingly clever, but that didn't make her better than him. Really, the chick had a major superiority complex.

"Great," he muttered to himself. "Lesson one hasn't even started and we hate each other."

He spun the basketball around in his hand, and then he sighed. He needed her. He'd failed all of his classes, and needed to pick his grades up if he wanted to stay on the team. Basketball was his life. He'd worked so hard to get on the team, and he wasn't going to let himself get kicked out.

"Percy, what the hell happened, man?"

He turned and saw his best friend Grover standing there, gangly arms crossed and forehead creased in confusion. Percy shook his head and walked over to him.

"Forget it. Let's get back to the guys and keep playing."

The team practised for two more hours, and Percy performed excellently, which just proved he belonged on the team. The captain, a beefy guy named Robert, smacked him on the back in a friendly way and told him to get the hell out of there.

But he couldn't stop thinking about Annabeth Chase. She seemed so...closed. Like she hated people or something.

He knew her as Annie the Genius. She was in his Literature class. She was the best, of course, but she was always alone, with her grey eyes shrewd and calculating. Not once had he seen her laugh or mess around. Even at lunch, when she sat with the other geeks, she'd be sitting alone to the side, reading as she ate.

He didn't envy her. He couldn't ever stand being alone like that, which was why he always surrounded himself with friends. He did, however, envy her impeccable grades. It was like she didn't have to work hard at all to be so successful.

Speaking of grades...

Percy groaned as he put opened the door to his apartment. He knew his asshole of a stepdad Gabe had found out about his shitty grades, and that his mom probably knew too. His mom, Sally, was a wonderful woman. She meant the world to Percy. She knew about his ADHD, and she never ever treated him badly. She was perfect. He knew she wouldn't be too bad. She'd sigh and tell him to improve, which would make him feel bad, but she wouldn't ever hurt him.

Gabe, on the other hand, would probably yell at him, chuck something at him, and then yell at Sally for having such a terrible son. Percy was taller than Gabe, who was short and hairy and just downright hideous, and could take him in a fight. He'd done it once before, back in tenth grade. But there had been a lot of trouble at the hospital, and Sally had cried so much that Percy decided to stop fighting back.

He made his way to the living room, which stank of cigarettes, and found Gabe sitting in front of the TV, gulping unattractively at a bottle of beer. Percy winced at the sight.

"Where's mom?" he asked, not wanting to spend too much time with the jerk.

Gabe looked up and sneered. "She went out."

"Why?"

"Grocery shopping. I needed more beer."

"You couldn't have gotten it yourself?" Percy snapped, tossing his bag to the side. "She's not your hired help."

"Don't get brave with me. Your report card just came in. You're flunking all your classes, and if you wanna stay on that dumb soccer team of yours, you better pick those grades up."

"It's the basketball team, jackass. And I'll deal with it myself."

He picked up his back and stormed into his room, slamming the door shut behind him. Percy collapsed on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He fucking hated Gabe. He didn't know why the hell his mom put up with the guy. He was lazy, rude and degrading. He treated Percy like crap, but Sally even worse, because he knew she couldn't fight back.

Percy scowled, unhappy because he couldn't be sure what Gabe did to Sally when he was at school. He swore, if he saw Gabe laying one finger on his mother, he would kill him.

But as the skies darkened, and he calmed down a bit, his thoughts shifted to Annabeth Chase. She was a mystery, and Percy was a very curious guy. She was clever. She was alright to look at - curly blonde hair, tan skin, a slim and athletic frame and intelligent grey eyes hidden behind glasses. She scowled and frowned a lot.

He hoped she had calmed down by now, or if not, by tomorrow, because he sure as hell didn't want to have a bitchy female as his tutor, especially since she'd be tutoring him for the next three months of school.

It was pretty dark outside. He hoped his mom would come home soon, because he refused to go out and confront Gabe again, even if he hadn't eaten any dinner yet.

Percy sighed, the exhaustion of all that exercise suddenly catching up with him, and turned onto his side and fell into a sound slumber.

**PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA**

Annabeth felt bad.

She was sitting on her desk, pencil poised over a fresh sheet of paper, ready to do some calculus. But she couldn't stop thinking about Percy Jackson and how downright rude she'd been to him earlier.

Annabeth wasn't exactly the nicest person on the world, but still. It was obvious he'd hit her by accident. She blamed her bad temper.

She'd come home, a large bruise already formed on the side of her face. Her stepmother had interrogated her, and, tired for too much fuss, Annabeth had told her the truth. Thankfully, she'd left her alone after that, after giving her a direct order to get some sleep.

So naturally Annabeth went to do some calculus.

However, disobeying her stepmother seemed particularly difficult today, because she couldn't really focus on anything except for a tall, black-haired, green-eyed, handsome and clumsy basketball player.

It was seriously unnerving, Annabeth thinking about a boy so much. It was almost like she had a crush on him.

She let herself laugh at the ridiculous thought. Annabeth had no time for such childish things.

Tomorrow, she would apologise to him. She had to.

**PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA**

"Percy."

Percy turned around at the unfamiliar voice, pausing from the boring task of loading his locker. It was Annabeth Chase, looking awkward and uncomfortable, shifting foot from foot.

"Yeah?" he asked, raising a dark eyebrow.

Annabeth shifted a bit more before sighing.

"I just wanted to apologise. For yesterday. I was in pain, and I was upset. I had no right to snap at you like that."

Relief washed over him. Thank god. Now there was a chance she could tutor him well, and he could get decent enough grades to keep playing ball. Mood greatly improved, he gave her a huge, genuine smile that made her blink in surprise.

"That's okay, I understand," Percy told her. "No hard feelings?"

She nodded, looking less uncomfortable. "Anyway. You know I have to tutor you, right?"

"Yes, ma'am," he said, chuckling slightly. He took his books out and slammed his locker shut before striding off. "Walk with me."

**PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA PxA**

Annabeth stared after Percy for a few moments before walking after him. His long legs meant he took extra-large steps, so it was hard for her - five foot four - to catch up with him. She did eventually, however.

"We'll start tonight," she said, raising her voice loudly, because a lot of students had begun to fill up the corridors, heading towards their respective classes.

Percy nodded. "Yep."

"Should I come to your place?" she asked him.

He froze, and she collided into him painfully, nearly falling backwards. Percy swore under his breath before steadying her, and grabbed her arm, pulling her to the side of the hallway.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Percy immediately began blurting out, wringing his hands.

"It's okay," she said, pulling away from him. Again with the physical contact! "You didn't hurt me. Why'd you stop like that, though?"

But he was staring at the side of her face. He reached up to touch her with long, gentle fingers, and she flinched.

"You've got a bruise," he whispered.

"Yeah. I noticed."

"I'm sorry, he repeated, looking so pathetic that Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"It's fine, get over it already! Let's focus on the problem here. Should I come over to your house tonight?"

Percy stared at her for a few more seconds before shaking his head and stepping back. "No. No."

"Why-"

"I'll come over to yours, okay? What's your address?"

Annabeth stared at him, suspicious of how desperate he was to change the subject. It seemed Percy Jackson wasn't as easy to read as she had initially assumed. Nontheless, she scribbled her address down on his hand.

"Copy it down onto your link book later," she told him clearly. "Make sure it doesn't wash off. I'm not in any of your classes, so I can't repeat it to you."

"What time shall I come over?"

"Seven. Is that okay with you?"

He nodded, and then gave her a lopsided smile. "I really appreciate this, y'know."

"Hm," was all she said, before walking away to her own AL class, the same thought running through her mind for the rest of the day.

_He has a really nice smile._

**A/N: I honestly don't read a lot of Percabeth fanfiction, so IDK if this is moving too slowly or too quickly for you guys. Anyway, I'm sorry if I made any mistakes or whatever. PLEASE POINT THEM OUT TO ME! And please, please please PLEASE review and tell me how I can improve. I love reviews, especially compliments and ones that say "UPDATE!" because that shows you liked it, but my fave are the ones that tell me how I can make it even better. I want to teach English someday. Anyway. I hope you guys enjoyed it, and look out for the next chapter sometime soon. **

-K


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello, I'm back with the second chapter of The Greatest Thing You'll Ever Learn. This was fairly easy to write up until Percy's POV, which I wrote when I was hungry. Hmm. Anyway, read, enjoy, and review!**

**Warnings: Some cursing/swearing**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the PJO series, it's all Rick Riordan's**

**The Greatest Thing You'll Ever Learn – Chapter Two**

Annabeth Chase was leaning against her bedroom door, eye twitching in irritation. She was annoyed. No, she was very annoyed. Percy had promised to be at her house at seven, and it was already eight-thirty. She walked over to her window and opened the curtains. It was dark outside, and if he had any sense, he wouldn't be wandering around at this time.

So he probably wasn't coming.

Annabeth sat on her bed, wondering why he'd blown her off. Maybe he'd stupidly forgotten to write her address down in his book? Or maybe he wasn't taking the situation as seriously as she was? Either way, Annabeth was frustrated.

She'd told Chiron she'd give him one chance. One chance, and if he messed up, that was it. Done. He could go hire another tutor.

Stupid AL class members. They had more exams than Annabeth did - she'd finished most of hers last semester - so Chiron had chosen her to tutor Percy.

Well, not any more. She was through with the moron. He could continue failing his classes and get kicked off the team for all she cared!

She'd even dressed nicely - swapping her usual heavy sweaters and long skirts for a blue t-shirt and jeans. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail. Annabeth never got guests, so she didn't really know how to dress or act.

But it was pointless, because he wasn't even coming. Gosh, that asshole. She'd wasted so much time and energy on hi-

She was jolted out of her bitter thoughts by the sound of the doorbell ringing. Annabeth jumped up and tore the door open before rushing, only to collide painfully with her stepmom. She fell to the ground, landing on her butt.

"Ouch!" Annabeth cried, looking up.

"Annabeth, why are you in such a hurry?" Mrs. Chase asked, rubbing her own side. She was a pretty Asian woman with dyed red hair and full lips, brown eyes peering at Annabeth, half-curious and half-annoyed.

Annabeth got up. "Sorry. I heard the doorbell."

"I was going to answer - oh. Were you expecting someone?"

Annabeth shifted from foot to foot and nodded. "Yeah."

"Is it a boy?"

She was taken aback by her stepmother's coy, girlish whisper and her twinkling eyes. Annabeth fought back a blush and stepped away.

"No!" she cried, as the doorbell rang again, and she walked to answer it.

The door opened and Percy stood there. Annabeth was slightly furious at his ability to look good-looking all the time. He wore dark jeans, Converse sneakers and a checkered shirt, the sleeves rolled up to reveal part of his muscular arms. He was grinning apologetically, running a hand through his hair.

"Sorry I'm late, I can explain!"

"It's fine," Annabeth grumbled, standing aside to let him in. Her stepmother was goggling in the distance. Percy saw her and waved.

"Hello, you must be Mrs. Chase."

Mrs. Chase beamed. "Yes, that's me. And you are...?"

"Percy Jackson. Annabeth's supposed to tutor me tonight. Well, she was, but I'm a bit late, due to unforeseen circumstances."

Annabeth was stunned by Percy's vocabulary, and by the fact that her stepmother was totally blushing.

"Annabeth didn't tell me that!" she said in a breathy tone. "Annabeth?"

"Yeah. Sorry," Annabeth said.

"And are you two...dating, by any chance?" Mrs. Chase inquired, leaning against the counter.

Percy laughed uncomfortably and Annabeth went bright red.

"No! Nothing like that!" Percy said quickly.

Annabeth fought back her blush and said, "We'll be going now. Upstairs. Bye."

Percy took the stairs and Annabeth followed, but not before her stepmom grabbed her arm and hissed, "He's cute!" in her ear. Annabeth flushed (again! and ran upstairs, following Percy, who was lingering on the landing.

"Here's my bedroom," she said, brushing past him and opening the door to her room. Percy walked past her and into it.

She saw his eyes widen slightly as he inspected everything. She knew it wasn't much - it was of moderate size, with light grey walls, a huge bookshelf and a large desk in the corner. Her bed was neat and tidy, her laptop and charger humming quietly on it. Her walls were decorated with pictures of all sorts of famous buildings - the Parthenon, the Empire State Building, and many more. Her wardrobe was of heavy, solid oak - a gift from a distant relative. Everything was perfect. A bit boring, compared to those of other kids, but it was nice.

Annabeth felt very strange. Percy Jackson was in her bedroom!

She turned to him, only to find him smiling, his eyes twinkling happily.

"This is exactly how I imagined it," he said, giving a small laugh.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "You think about my bedroom?"

She was glad when Percy turned beet red. "N-No. I mean, I was just thinking on the way here. You seem like a control freak, real neat and tidy, y'know?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes and realised they were still standing awkwardly in the middle of her room. So she sat him down on her bed before grabbing the necessary books and sitting beside him.

"Okay, I thought we should start with-"

"Math," Percy interrupted. She raised an eyebrow again, so he added, "I've got a test tomorrow. I could really use some help, especially with algebra."

"Okay, math it is."

They opened up their books and got to work with some easy equations before shifting to some difficult ones. Percy was a keen student - he just had some concentration issues is all - which he later explained was due to his mild ADHD. Annabeth had some suspicions of him having the disorder - his eyes kept wandering around the room, he kept running a hand through his hair when- ever they reached a difficult topic - and she was relieved when he confirmed it.

Annabeth did her best to explain all the difficult topics to him, and she was glad when he honestly said he understood it. She tested him on a few of the subjects and he managed to answer all the questions correctly.

She smiled when they finished up and finally closed their books. She took off her glasses, no longer having a use for them. "You'll do well in your test tomorrow. Just focus."

"Easier said than done," he said weakly, wiping his brow. "But I hope so. Wow, I'm exhausted. I bet this is nothing compared to what you usually do, though."

She shrugged. "I'm good at school stuff. I absolutely suck at sport, however."

"Really?"

"Really. Did you hear about that girl who was sent to the nurse's office with a bloody face after the entire girl's dodgeball team destroyed her?"

Percy chuckled as he shifted in his seat. "I did, actually. Tenth grade, right?"

"Yeah, that was me."

He stopped laughing and looked guilty instead. "Oh."

"Relax, Jackson, I got over it. Anyway, it looks like we're done here."

He nodded and stood up, putting his books in his backpack before heading towards the door. But before he walked out, he turned back to Annabeth, grinning.

"Thank you, Annabeth. This really does mean a lot to me."

"It's okay," she replied, although her stomach was doing backflips for some stupid reason. "Hey, you never told me why you were late."

His eyes widened and he glanced at the clock on her wall. "Would ya look at that? I'm running late, my mom's gonna kill me. Bye! Same time tomorrow! I won't be late, I promise!"

Before Annabeth could say anything, Percy rushed out of her room and ran downstairs. She heard the front door slam a few seconds after he yelled, "Thank you and goodbye, Mrs. Chase!"

Annabeth sighed. He was really something.

She rubbed at her eyes, feeling tired, and decided to go to the kitchen and have a glass of milk before going to bed. She made her way to the kitchen and saw her stepmom there, staring dreamily at the door.

"He's seventeen," Annabeth said, bringing the older woman back to Earth. "And you're married."

"Oh, Annabeth, don't assume such things! Is he your boyfriend?" she asked keenly.

"No!" cried Annabeth, opening the fridge forcefully. "He already said that. I barely know the guy. Chiron assigned me as his tutor because he's not doing very well."

"Oh," Mrs. Chase said, grinning like a Cheshire Cat. "But you like him, don't you?"

"No!"

"Annabeth, you dressed up for him!"

"I did not dress up," Annabeth mumbled, pouring herself some milk in her favourite mug. It had been sent to her from her aunt in Rome. "I just decided to change out of my clothes because..."

"Because?"

Annabeth sipped at her milk delicately. "I wanted to. Now stop interrogating me, alright? There's nothing going on between me and Percy Jackson. Like I said, I don't even know him that well."

"Not yet," Mrs. Chase smirked, and then she held up her hands in surrender as Annabeth glared at her. "Alright, alright. Get some sleep, kiddo. You've got school tomorrow."

"Where's dad?"

"At work. He won't be back till late tonight. Now go to bed!"

"Yes ma'am," Annabeth said, gulping at her drink before finishing up and putting the mug in the sink.

She headed upstairs, brushed her teeth, changing into her comfortable PJs before switching off the light and settling into bed. She closed her eyes and willed sleep to come, but all she could think about was Percy, Percy, Percy.

And how the idea of dating him wasn't really as repulsive as she'd initially assumed.

She thought about math. About architecture. She did some difficult calculations. But it was pointless. Annabeth simply couldn't sleep.

It was really annoying.

**t(-_-)t t(-_-)t t(-_-)t t(-_-)t t(-_-)t t(-_-)t t(-_-)t t(-_-)t**

Percy crept up the stairs to his apartment, gently taking the keys out of his pocket and doing his best to keep quiet. It was pretty late, and he didn't want to wake Gabe up after their little fight earlier that evening.

He opened the door and strode into his bedroom silently, taking note that the lights were all off. Gabe and Sally were in bed. No surprise there, it was past 10pm (it had taken him quite a while getting home from Annabeth's house) and they both had work to go to in the morning.

And he had school.

Percy sighed as he threw his backpack onto the floor and collapsed on his bed, not bothering to get changed. He was exhausted! Algebra really took a lot out of him.

But he had had some fun. Annabeth was a great teacher, and he'd learnt a lot. He felt confident about his test tomorrow. Maybe he'd actually pass.

His thoughts drifted to how cute she'd looked when he'd arrived, wearing jeans and a t-shirt that showed off her decent body. She was frowning, and he knew she wasn't expecting him to turn up at all. Stupid Gabe, making him late.

They'd had a big argument before he walked out of the house. Percy sighed, feeling his temper rise as he remembered the events.

_"Where are you going?" Gabe demanded, blocking the front door so Percy had to freeze in his steps. "You've got school tomorrow, go and do your homework."_

_"I've done it all," Percy lied. "And I'll be back early."_

_"Where are you headed, sweetie?" _

_Percy turned and saw his mom standing in the kitchen doorway, hands on her hips and brow furrowed in confusion. Percy was grateful. She'd stick up for him._

_"Mom, I've got an extra-curriculum class," he said, not completely lying._

_"Liar," Gabe hissed before Sally could comment. "I bet you're off to that stupid football team of yours."_

_"Basketball," Percy corrected, gritting his teeth._

_"Aha! See! I knew it!" cried Gabe._

_Percy was angry at himself for being duped by such a moron. Gabe, so small and slimy with his greasy hair and yellow teeth from years of smoking. _

_"Get out of my way," Percy growled._

_Gabe smacked him upside the head, making Sally cry out. "Don't talk to me like that, you little shit," Gabe spat. "You're nothing but a screwup, just like your daddy. Where is he, anyway? Ditched your whore of a mother after screwing her. Didn't wanna stick around when he realised a little retard was on its way-"_

_Gabe didn't get to finish his offensive sentence, because Percy let out a roar of rage and punched him in the face, knocking him out cold. His stepfather hit the wall behind him and slumped to the ground, unconscious. Sally screamed and rushed towards him._

_She looked up at Percy with brown eyes filled with fear and sadness, and Percy was tempted to run away. To go to Annabeth's house and study. But he knew he'd be distracted, and he knew that_

_Sally wouldn't be able to tend to Gabe on her own._

_So he picked the man up and carried him to the sofa. Sally got an icepack and placed it on Gabe's face, tears streaming down her own. They stayed like that, in complete silence, waiting for Gabe to wake up. And when he groaned and his swollen eyes fluttered open, Percy nodded to his mother, picked up his back and walked out of the house._

Percy sighed as he relived the memories of that afternoon and tried to block it all out of his mind so he could get to sleep. But even when he did so, Annabeth was all he could think about.

Annabeth's rare smile.

Her stormy grey eyes.

The way she would nod approvingly whenever he did something right.

The way she'd roll her eyes and her lips would twitch when he acted stupidly or made a lame joke.

Maybe, just maybe, they could be friends.

**A/N: Hey guys, hope you enjoyed the chapter. The flashback was the lamest thing ever, I know **** but I tried. It's really hot here, and I'm starving. Anyway, I don't really know where I'm going with this story :/ Suggestions will be appreciated, so PM me. Oh, and remember to review! If you don't I may accidentally forget to update.. (just kidding. But please, review!)**

-K


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